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Leveraging Continuing Education to Improve
Professional Prospects and Profiles
Session #CD5 February 11, 2019
Wendy Whitmore, Chief Learning Officer, 4MedPlus Education
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• Wendy Whitmore, CLO
• Has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.
Conflict of Interest
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• Further professional development
– With potential employer/client or contract targets
– As it relates to confidence and commitment
– In terms of ongoing industry growth and success
• Evaluate accreditations, approvals and credentials
– Establishing goals for achievement, choosing carefully
– Creating a checklist to evaluate educational opportunities
• Highlight learning and credentials to improve prospects
– How and when to modify applications, RFPs, resumes/CVs
– How to link and highlight credentials for best recognition
– How to establish credibility using your professional profile
– Questions
Agenda
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• Outline how continuing education can
further professional development
• Evaluate accreditations, approvals
and credentials when considering
training options
• Leverage and strategically highlight
new learning to improve career
prospects
Learning Objectives
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Continuing Education and
Professional Development
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• Employers and clients look
for “activity”
• Active learning is
always a “good sign”
• Empty dates can be
filled by learning dates
• Competition can
be mitigated
• Cross-skill and upskill
training indicates initiative
and self motivation
Continuing education can further
professional development
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• New learning
• Presentations
• Up-skill education
• Credentials
Enhance personal confidence and
demonstrate professional commitment
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• Find new contacts
• Network in the industry
• Attain re-licensure
• Renew credentials
• Highlight commitment
• Express new ideas
• Stay abreast of changes
Impact Industry Success
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Evaluating Educational Options
for Professional Development
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• Interviews and research can
limit mistakes
• Establish a primary goal and
work your research around it
• Create a Q&A list for those
working in your area of interest
• Conduct informational
interviews
• Compare role requirements
• Define goals and intentions
Investigation before registration
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Identify goals for professional development before selecting
an educational path. Which elements are most important?
- Expanding skillsets
- Increasing knowledge base
- Achieving industry credentials
- Enhancing resume/CV
- Learning a new role
- Acquiring a new client or
target audience
- Becoming a trusted advisor
- Developing a professional profile
Establishing achievement goals
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• Learning Objectives
– Are the learning objectives accurately
targeted to my current or desired role?
– Do they indicate what I will be able to
do as a result of the program?
– Are the learning outcomes reasonable
for the length of the program?
Checklist to Evaluate Continuing
Education
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• Course Credentials
– Do instructor or course author qualifications lead you to
believe that accurate content will be delivered?
– Is the instructor presenting within his/her area of expertise?
Checklist to Evaluate Continuing
Education
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• Disclosures and Methods
– Has each instructor disclosed
financial interests related
to the course content?
– Are instructional methods
described?
– Do methods include active
involvement of the audience?
– Do methods align with your
learning style?
Checklist to Evaluate Continuing
Education
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• Credits/Credentials
– Does the program offer CEUs relevant to your specific
industry or area of new skill?
– Is it offered by an approved CEU provider?
– What are the criteria for satisfactory completion of the
course and earning of CEUs?
Checklist to Evaluate Continuing
Education
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• Registration Fees
– Are fees reasonable when
compared to similar programs?
– Are discounts available for
students, members, renewals?
Checklist to Evaluate Continuing
Education
• Follow-up from Program Provider
− Will anyone respond to requests for
detailed information?
− Are answers readily available on the
educators website?
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• Growth Potential
– Are there pre-requisites for the course
you are considering?
– Are there other levels of learning you
may attain?
• Industry Recognition
– Is the program you are considering
recognized by your targets?
– If not, is this important or is it more
important to acquire the skills
associated with the program in order
to meet target needs?
Checklist to Evaluate Continuing
Education
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Once you have successfully selected your training and built
your plan, focus on completion.
- Establish a timeline
(for progress and study)
- Identify benchmarks
- Create a study log
- Plan ahead for
conversion
- Track progress
and add updates
- Engage support
as needed
Selecting and executing training
options
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Leveraging New Learning and
Achievements for Professional Success
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• Avoid becoming a “static candidate”
• Make your resume, CV or online profile a
living breathing document
• Show that you are open to new ideas,
willing to invest valuable time
• Create a category to highlight skills,
valuable knowledge and goals
• Hit your target (employer/client/admissions)
with new information regularly
• Become a credible resource and trusted
advisor in your field of interest
• Add stickiness to your skillset.
Show what you know!
Strategically highlighting learning
to improve prospects
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How to avoid becoming a “Static
Candidate”
• What is a static candidate?
• What do employers/clients want?
• Why is a recent learning date
important?
• How do targets review experience
vs. education?
• What aspects of professional
education are most important?
• Are dates/renewals relevant?
• Will the financial investment
convert to better revenue results?
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Make your resume, CV or online profile
a living breathing document
• Immediately add new credentials
to all points of promotion
• Cross-link to relevant articles
and professional sites
• Explain your reasoning for
specific educational goals
• Employ seals and badges to
highlight accomplishments
• Grow your reference list with
educator recommendations
• Revisit your documents regularly
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Show that you are open to new ideas,
willing to invest valuable time
• Ask the question “would you
hire yourself?” If yes, why?
If no, why not?
• What are the 5 most desirable
candidate skills?
• How do you stack up against
your competition?
• What have you done for your
professional profile lately?
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Highlight skills, knowledge and goals
• Identify target touchpoints
• Add a custom category
• Build a book of “newness”
• Welcome feedback
• Identify “buzz-words”
• Network/comment/engage
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Hit targets regularly and abundantly
• Review and Catalogue
– recent workshops attended
– courses completed
– whitepapers reviewed
– articles written/read
• Amend and Append
– online applications
– resume/CV’s
– social media profiles
– author descriptions/bios, etc.
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Become a credible resource and trusted
advisor in your field
• Research industry hot topics
• Educate yourself in-depth in
dynamic areas of importance
• List your high-level topics of
knowledge in your professional
profiles
• Author whitepapers and articles
relevant in your area of expertise
• Offer to present on these topics
to industry organizations
• Establish a presence online
approaching sites with similar
focus
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Add stickiness to your skillset!
• Look for opportunities to reap
long-term benefits from the
education you have acquired
• Seek out instructor/SME
leadership opportunities
• Attach “mailbox money” to your
knowledge – author a course,
write a book, build a brand
• Establish a reputation – attend
events - network
• Volunteer for panel discussions,
become a thought leader
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Learn More to Earn More!
• Nothing returns better
on your investment than
education.
• Targets view continuing ed
as a sign of professional
dedication and commitment.
• Educational achievements
are often reflected in
compensation.
Learning is an ongoing process. Stay on top of your industry!
If you view it as part of your overall development plan, you will
certainly advance more rapidly and achieve more of your goals.
